Singapore Scot gets 11 months in cocaine case
LOUISE HOSIE
A SCOT who admitted cocaine possession while living in Singapore
was jailed for 11 months yesterday, his solicitor said.
Project engineer Jason Taylor, 33, had faced a possible ten-year
jail term and maximum £7,000 fine after being caught with 0.03oz
(0.85g) of the drug.
Taylor, who is originally from Aberdeen, was arrested along with a
number of other foreigners in Singapore last month by police
investigating an alleged drugs ring.
His solicitor, Dashran Purain, said his client appeared at a
district court yesterday and was ordered to serve 11 months in
prison. He said Mr Taylor had not received a fine.
Taylor was riding in a taxi along the city-state's main shopping
belt on 6 December when he was stopped by police. Others arrested
in the anti-drug operation include another Briton, seven Thais, a
Malaysian, a Japanese, and a Singaporean.
Singapore has some of the world's toughest drug laws, including a
mandatory death penalty for anyone caught with more than half an
ounce (14g) of heroin or more than 17.6oz (499g) of
marijuana.
Mr Purain said: "I think 11 months is a fair sentence: in fact, we
were expecting slightly longer."
He added: "If Mr Taylor is of good behaviour, he has the chance of
having his sentence cut by a third."
Mr Taylor's father, who lives in Dyce, Aberdeen, refused to comment
yesterday.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=102802006
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So what's with the heavy sentences meted out on a local cocaine
abuser? 